Systems and methods for inspection and defect detection

ABSTRACT

A method of inspecting an article with a defect detection tool includes receiving one or more articles at an inspection station and inspecting one of the received one or more articles by evaluating the article for at least one physical defect with the defect detection tool. The defect detection tool includes a clear body including a surface element sized to correspond to the at least one physical defect in the article. Evaluating the article for at least one physical defect with the defect detection tool includes applying the defect detection tool against the article to align the surface element with a potential physical defect in the surface of the article and determining that the at least one physical defect is present when the potential physical defect has a size equal to or larger than a size of the linear element or a size of the circular element.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of and claims the benefit of priorityto U.S. application Ser. No. 16/671,423, filed Nov. 1, 2019, which is acontinuation of and claims the benefit of priority to U.S. applicationSer. No. 16/370,297, filed Mar. 29, 2019, now U.S. Pat. No. 10,502,691,all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to the field of processing andinspecting an article for an end user and, more particularly, to systemsand methods for inspecting and detecting defects in articles.

BACKGROUND

The clothing and fashion industry has traditionally depended on abusiness model where customers purchase goods from physical retaillocations. These goods are often discarded by the customer while theitem remains in good condition or even excellent condition. Numerousretail locations are necessary to attract customers and providesufficient space for the display of items and to stock items ofdifferent styles, sizes, etc. These physical retail locations areoperated by teams of employees and are both labor-intensive andexpensive to maintain. Additionally, each physical location can onlyattract consumers within a narrow geographic area. It is also expensiveand difficult to adapt multiple retail locations to rapidly-changingtrends.

Although many industries have successfully migrated toInternet-connected platforms, the clothing industry largely remainsdependent on physical retail stores and traditional business models.Even when a sale of clothing is performed over the Internet, the itemmay still be used infrequently by a single consumer before beingdiscarded. Thus, the fashion and clothing industry also produces asignificant amount of waste. Accordingly, there is a need to transitionto more efficient practices.

Various challenges face retailers seeking to transition to alternatestrategies that provide items for short-term or temporary use. One suchchallenge lies in inspecting inbound articles that are received from acustomer or from a supplier. Current rental services do not typicallyperform a detailed inspection on articles that are received bycustomers. Rather, these rental services rely upon customers to detectand report items that are damaged or otherwise unsatisfactory. This canresult in various problems, including inaccurate tracking of itemcondition, inaccurate reporting of items as damaged, and inconsistentreporting standards. Additionally, relying upon customers to reportdamaged or unsatisfactory items can result in a poor customerexperience, as the customer receiving the unsatisfactory item must takeaction to report the item and wait for replacement of the item.

Additional challenges face retailers seeking to transition to alternatestrategies that provide items for short-term or temporary use,especially when the items may require frequent inspection for quality.One such challenge lies in managing inbound articles for inspection,performing the inspection in an objective and controllable manner, andaccumulating useful data based on the result of each inspection. Presentsystems are not equipped to provide objective inspection standards,particularly when items are inspected in multiple categories, or whenthe items are inspected in different areas with differing inspectionstandards.

There is a need for systems and methods to provide a repeatable,objective standard for inspecting an article, and to record the resultof the inspection in an accurate and repeatable manner. Such needs areparticularly felt when articles include multiple inspection areas andthe articles differ from each other. Thus, the present disclosure isdirected to inspecting an article, more particularly, to systems andmethods for detecting defects in articles.

SUMMARY

In one aspect, a method of inspecting an article with a defect detectiontool may include receiving one or more articles at an inspection stationand inspecting one of the received one or more articles at theinspection station by evaluating the article for at least one physicaldefect with the defect detection tool. The defect detection tool mayinclude a clear body including a surface element sized to correspond tothe at least one physical defect in the article, the surface elementincluding at least one of a linear element or a circular element and aninspection surface configured to contact a surface of the article whenthe clear body is applied to the article. Evaluating the article for atleast one physical defect with the defect detection tool may includeapplying the defect detection tool against the article to align thesurface element with a potential physical defect in the surface of thearticle and determining that the at least one physical defect is presentwhen the potential physical defect has a size equal to or larger than asize of the linear element or a size of the circular element.

In another aspect, a computer-implemented method of detecting a defectin an article may include receiving one or more articles at aninspection station, and inspecting the article using a defect inspectiontool having a surface element to indicate a presence of a physicaldefect in the article. The inspecting may include determining a standardfor inspecting an area of the article with the defect inspection tool,evaluating the article for at least one physical defect based on thedetermined standard, based on the evaluation, determining whether thearticle includes the at least one physical defect, and when the articleis determined to include the at least one physical defect, updating anarticle tracking system with an inspection processor.

In another aspect, an inspection defect detection tool for detecting atleast one physical defect in an article may include a clear body havinga surface element sized to correspond to the at least one physicaldefect in the article, the surface element including at least one of alinear element or a circular element, the circular element formed as adepression, a through-hole, or a portion of the inspection surfacehaving a color different than the clear body. The inspection defectdetection tool may also include an inspection surface formed on theclear body, the inspection surface configured to contact a surface ofthe article when the clear body is applied to the article such that thesurface element is approximately aligned with a potential physicaldefect in the article.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It is believed that certain embodiments will be better understood fromthe following description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like references indicate similar elements and inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a workflow applicable to a service ofproviding articles including an inspection system according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is block diagram illustrating an inspection system including aninspection station, according to an embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electronic network andenvironment including the inspection system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a defect detection tool according to anembodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an inspection performed with thedefect detection tool of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an article inspection processaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating an article inspection processaccording to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

While principles of the present disclosure are described herein withreference to illustrative embodiments for particular applications, itshould be understood that the disclosure is not limited thereto. Thosehaving ordinary skill in the art and access to the teachings providedherein, will recognize that the features illustrated or described withrespect to one embodiment, may be combined with the features of anotherembodiment. Therefore, additional modifications, applications,embodiments, and substitution of equivalents, all fall within the scopeof the embodiments described herein. Accordingly, the invention is notto be considered as limited by the foregoing description. Variousnon-limiting embodiments of the present disclosure will now be describedto provide an overall understanding of the principles of the structure,function, and use of system and method for article inventory transfer.

As described above, there is a need in the field of processing anarticle for an end user. In one aspect, processing an item for an enduser may include the performance of a service of providing articles toend users.

FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary workflow that may be applied to aservice of providing articles to end users (e.g., clothing as aservice). The articles are, for example, wearable articles such asgarments and/or accessories that are provided as a service to numeroususers. As shown in FIG. 1, one or more articles 18 are received in aprocessing space 110 before being transferred to one or more destinationlocations 118 within the processing space 110. Processing space 110 maybe, for example, an interior of a warehouse in which a number ofarticles 18 are received, cleaned, inspected, repaired, stored, and/orprepared for shipment to users. Each article 18 may be a new articlereceived from a supplier (new arrival) or an article that was worn by acustomer.

As shown in FIG. 1, in general, processing space 110 may comprise aninspection station 112, a transfer station 114, a putaway staging area116, a retirement staging area 124, an additional processing area 120, asecondary inspection station 122, and a plurality of destinationlocations 118. Destination locations 118 may be locations within asingle processing space 110 or within multiple processing spaces 110.Similarly, while inspection station 112, transfer station 114, andputaway staging area 116 may each be located within a single processingspace 110, one or more of these may be located in various warehouses orprocessing spaces 110. While one inspection station is illustrated inFIG. 1, a plurality of inspection stations 112 may be provided withinprocessing space 110 to increase productivity. Similarly, multipletransfer stations 114 and putaway staging areas 116 may be provided, andmay be present in more or fewer locations than inspection stations 112.

One or more articles 18 may be received in the processing space 110 tobe transferred to one or more destination locations 118 within theprocessing space 110. Prior to being transferred to destinationlocations 118, each article 18 may be individually inspected at aninspection station 112. An inspection at inspection station 112 mayinclude evaluating article 18 for at least one quality criterion such asthe presence of a stain, color bleeding, tearing, snagging, brokenstitching, odor, dirt, wrinkling, shrinkage, wear, pilling, colorfading, missing or broken hardware, or missing or broken embellishments.

Depending on the result of the inspection performed at inspectionstation 112, the article 18 may be transferred to an additionalprocessing area 120, secondary inspection station 122, a retirementstaging area 124, or a transfer station 114. As can be seen in FIG. 1,articles 18 that pass inspection are relocated from inspection station112 to a transfer station 114. From the transfer station 114, eacharticle 18 may be subsequently transferred to putaway staging area 116.From putaway staging area 116, groups of articles 18 may be transferredto destination locations 118.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary inspection station112 within processing space 110. Inspection station 112 includesspace(s) to organize articles 18 before or after inspection and includesequipment 70 necessary to perform inspection and minor repairs. Aninspection system 12 may be provided within inspection station 112 toassist in the inspection and tracking of articles 18. Inspection system12 may include, for example, article identifiers 22, inspectoridentifiers 24, an inspection processor or inspection processing device30, a reader 28 that is capable of reading identifiers 22 and 24, andinspection equipment 70. Inspection system 112 may include a series oflanes 92, 94, and 96, for managing a flow of articles 18 in a controlledmanner.

Articles 18 within a first lane 92 may be organized on one or more racks(e.g., Z-racks) to await inspection. Articles 18 in first lane 92 may benew arrivals received from a supplier, received from a customer (afterbeing laundered), or a mix of the two. A second lane 94 may be providedfor articles 18 that passed inspection. Third lane 96 may include one ormore racks of articles 18 that failed inspection. Racks within thirdlane 96 may have dividers corresponding to a destination, such as arepair station, retirement staging area 124, a cleaning station, aspotting station, or a pressing/steaming station. In one aspect, failplates 88 (FIG. 2) may be used as dividers for articles in lane 96. Eachfail plate may correspond to a particular destination associated with acause of failure. During inspection, an inspector gathers an item from arack in first lane 92, performs an inspection using inspection system12, and transfers the article to second lane 94 or third lane 96 basedon the result of the inspection.

Inspection system 12 may include identifiers 22 and an inspectionprocessing device 30 that is configured to read the article identifiers22 with reader 28. Inspection processing device 30 may include acomputer that is operatively connected to reader 28. Inspectionprocessing device 30 may include a display 32. Display 32 may be aninput/output (I/O) device including a touchscreen.

Each identifier 22 may represent (encode) various types of informationthat is deciphered by inspection processing device 30. For example, eachidentifier 22 may encode a source (e.g., brand, manufacturer), category(e.g., dress, pants, top, etc.), style (e.g., summer, fall, beachwear,etc.), color, size, and/or serial number (e.g., one or more numbers orletters that uniquely identify identical articles 18). Reader 28 may bea hand-held device configured to read identifiers 22, 24, and 26. Forexample, each of identifiers 22, 24, and 26 may be formed as a tag. Asused herein a “tag” refers to at least one of a one-dimensional barcode,a two-dimensional barcode (e.g., a quick-response or “QR” code, FIG. 3),or a radio-frequency identifier such as an RFID tag, any of which may beread by reader 28. Alternatively, reader 28 may be affixed to orincorporated within inspection processing device 30. As used herein,“reading” contemplates at least one of scanning (e.g., by a detectorthat detects reflected light such as a laser), imaging (e.g., by acamera of a cellular phone), infrared communication, or radio-frequencycommunication. In one aspect, reader 28 may include a camera or otherimaging device configured to image a one-dimensional or two-dimensionalbarcode. Reader 28 is able to output information corresponding to eachunique article identifier 22 by reading or scanning identifier 22.

For ease of use, each identifier 22 may be physically attached to aninterior of the corresponding article 18 (e.g., by fastening identifier22 to an inside of a manufacturer's tag as shown in FIG. 3, or to apocket on an interior of article 18). Thus, identifier 22 may remainfixed to article 18 during the life of the article 18, including whenarticle 18 is worn by a customer, transported, laundered, etc. To easeunderstanding, identifier 22 is enlarged in FIG. 2. However, as shown inFIG. 3, identifier 22 may be provided in a size approximately the sameas, or smaller than, a manufacturer's branding or care label provided onarticle 18.

As noted above, inspection equipment 70 may be included within aninspection station 112 to facilitate the inspection of articles 18 andperform minor care or repairs during the inspection. Inspectionequipment 70 may include inspector identifiers 24 that associate one ormore articles 18 with a particular inspector that performed theinspection. Each inspector identifier 24 may include a tag or code thatcorresponds to the particular inspector.

Inspection equipment 70 may include a defect detection tool orinspection tool 14 that may be used by an inspector during an inspectionprocess. In one aspect, a plurality of inspection tools 14 may beincluded in the inspection equipment 70. When a plurality of inspectiontools 14 are provided, these inspection tools 14 may be identical toeach other. However, if desired, a plurality of different types ofinspection tools 14 may be provided to facilitate the inspection ofvarious articles 18. For example, a plurality of different types ofinspection tools 14 may include inspection tools for shirts anddifferent inspection tools for pants.

Inspection equipment 70 may also include a shaving device 72, lint brush74, cutting tool 76, one or more safety pins 77, pliers 78, lint roller80, action tags 82, multiple fail identifiers 83, spot stickers 84,production worksheet 86, first-in first-out (FIFO) sheet 87, fail plates88, and cashmere brush 90. Thus, an inspector may correct minorimperfections and identify articles 18 that failed inspection. Multiplefail identifiers 83 may be provided as tags, for example, which areemployed to identify an article 18 which failed an inspection for morethan one inspection criterion. For example, an article 18 that failedfor a reparable seam tear and a removable stain may be identified byaffixing a multiple fail identifier 83 and an action tag 82 to thearticle 18. One or more production worksheet 86 and FIFO sheet 87 may beused to record an inspectors' productivity and ensure that each article18 or rack of articles 18 is processed in order of arrival.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an environment including anarticle tracking system or database 40 that may be used with inspectionprocessing devices 30 in one or more inspection stations 112 (e.g.,inspection station A and inspection station B). Article database 40 maybe operatively connected, for example over network 140, with one or moreinspection processing devices 30. In one aspect, network 140 mayrepresent the Internet. However, network 140 may be a wired or wirelesslocal network, or an intranet. Information stored in article database 40is accessible by inspection processing device 30 via network 140, andmay be added to, modified, or deleted by inspection processing device30.

As discussed above, inspection processing device 30 may include acomputer. A memory 36 of processing device 30 may store instructionsthat, when executed by one or more processors 34, allow processingdevice 30 to operate as discussed herein. While display I/O or display32 may be a touchscreen display, additional I/O devices such as a mouseor keyboard may also be included in display I/O 32. Inspectionprocessing device 30 may include a wired or wireless network interface38 configured to access article database 40 through a network 140.

Article tracking system or article database 40 may include one or morestorage devices that store article information. Each storage device maybe formed by one or more hard disk drives, solid state drives, flashmemory, USB storage devices, or other non-transitory storage media.Article database 40 may include an article characteristics storagedevice 42, article images storage device 44, inspection history storagedevice 46, and article location storage device 48. Although each storagedevice is illustrated as a part of database 40, one or more storagedevice may be combined and shared across one or more additionaldatabases. Thus, when inspection stations 112 are located in processingspaces 110 of multiple warehouses, all of the information contained inarticle database 40 is readily accessed by each inspection processingdevice 30.

Whether article database 40 is connected to inspection processing device30 by a global or local network 140, each inspection processing device30 may access information stored in article characteristics storage 42,article images storage 44, inspection history storage 46, and articlelocation storage 48. When reader 28 reads an identifier 22, informationencoded in the identifier is output by reader 28 and received byprocessing device 30. This information may form the basis of a querysent from processing device 30 to article database 40. In response tothe query, article database 40 outputs, via network 140, informationfrom one or more of the categories of information associated with theidentifier 22 that was read by reader 28. Thus, each article 18 may beidentified in response to reading an identifier 22 by reader 28.

The information output from article database 40 may include articlecharacteristics stored in storage 42. This information may include asource, category, style, color, size, etc. Article images storage 44 mayinclude a photograph or stock image of the article 18. This image mayrepresent an initial state of the article 18 when the article 18 is innew condition.

Inspection history storage 46 may include a complete history for everyinspection performed on each article 18. The history may be stored in ageneralized form (e.g., general pass/fail information) or may be moregranular. For example, the inspection history stored in storage 46 mayinclude both broader categories of failure (e.g., re-clean, odor,spotting, re-press, repair, retire, etc.) and detailed causes of failure(e.g., tear/hole located away from seam, color bleed, pilling, snagging,shrinkage, spandex wear). A detailed cause of failure stored in storage46 may be updated based on an inspection of an article 18 performed withinspection tool 14.

Location information of each article 18 may be stored in articlelocation storage 48. This location information may specify a location ofthe article 18 within a particular processing space 110, a particularlocation within processing space 110 (e.g., awaiting an audit or secondinspection at secondary inspection station 122), or may indicate thatthe article 18 is with a customer (e.g., by storing a unique useridentification number associated with the customer).

Information stored by article database 40 may be updated by processingdevice 30 in response to the output of reader 28. For example,processing device 30 may update article location information of anarticle 18 in response to being read by reader 28, or in response to anoutcome of an inspection. In one aspect, inspection history informationin storage 46 may be updated based on an outcome of an inspectionperformed at inspection station 112. Inspection processing device 30 maydetermine the result of an inspection by guiding an inspector through aseries of prompts and receiving an inspection result from reader 28 orother input device. The result of the inspection may then be used toupdate the inspection history information, article location information,and any other relevant information stored by article database 40.Additionally, the inspection history can be updated based on theidentifier 22 read by reader 28 to ensure that the inspection result iscorrelated with the correct article 18. Thus, inspection processingdevice 30 and inspection tool 14 may be used in conjunction ininspection system 12 to perform an objective inspection of articles 18and record the results of the inspection accordingly.

FIG. 4 is a plan view illustrating inspection tool 14 according to anexemplary embodiment. In one aspect, inspection tool 14 may be formed asan integrated tool having a clear or approximately clear body 50. Body50 may define an inspection surface 52, rounded corners 54, and curvedside edges 56. In one aspect, corners 54 and curved side edges 56 mayinclude curved (e.g., rounded) boundaries on a bottom surface of body50, the curved or rounded boundaries facing a surface of article 18underneath tool 14. These boundaries may form a substantially smoothsurface that prevents snagging of article 18, even when tool 14 isguided along a surface of the article 18. Additionally, each surface oftool 14 may be provided with a clear scratch-resistant coating. Ifdesired, a clear scratch-resistant coating may be applied only tosurfaces that may come into contact with an article 18, such asinspection surface 52.

Body 50 may include one or more linear surface features or elements 58and/or one or more circular surface features or elements 60. A portionof body 50 may include an area division indicator 62 configured toindicate a plurality of different inspection areas of an article 18. Aninspection standard indicator 64 may indicate one or more inspectionstandards for a plurality of areas in article 18. An inspection areaspecifier or area indicator 66 may be provided at another portion ofbody 50, such as an upper portion.

An inspection surface 52 of body 50 may be formed by a smooth surfacebody 50 that may be placed on an article 18 so as to align a potentialphysical defect in an article 18 with surface elements 58, 60. In anexemplary configuration, inspection surface 52 is formed by anapproximately flat bottom surface of body 50.

One or more of the surface elements 58 and 60 may be provided on anexterior surface of body 50, such as inspection surface 52, which may bea bottom surface of body 50 (FIG. 5). Alternatively, surface element 58and/or surface element 60 may be provided on an upper surface of body 50opposite to inspection surface 52. In another exemplary configuration,surface elements 58 and/or 60 may be provided in an interior surface of(e.g., embedded within) body 50. This may be performed, for example, byproviding a layer of body 50 that has one or more portions formed of adifferent color than the remainder of clear body 50.

In one example, surface elements in body 50 may be formed by one or morelinear surface features or linear elements 58. Linear element 58 may beformed as a depression, a through-hole, or a portion of body 50 such assurface 52 having a color different than the clear body 50. In anexemplary configuration, linear element 58 may be formed as a shallowgroove or recess within body 50. As body 50 may be formed of atransparent (clear) material, a shallow groove or recess may provide alinear element 58 that is translucent. Such a translucent linear element58 may be formed by laser engraving a plastic surface, for example.Linear element 58 may alternatively be formed as a through-holeextending entirely through a top surface of inspection tool (which mayface an inspector) and a bottom surface of the inspection tool (whichmay form inspection surface 52 that may be placed on an article 18). Inanother exemplary configuration, linear element 58 may be formed as aline having a color different than a color of body 50. In one aspect,linear element 58 may include a translucent or opaque linear portionprovided within body 50.

A surface feature in body 50 may be formed by one or more circularsurface features or circular elements 60. Circular elements 60 may beprovided together with linear elements 58. Each circular element 60 maybe provided as a shallow groove or recess (e.g., a translucent portion),a through-hole, or a colored circular portion having a color differentthan a color of body 50, similar to linear element 58. As can be seen inFIG. 4, a plurality of circular elements 60 may be provided together asa group of elements 60. Alternatively, a single circular element 60 maybe provided.

Regardless of the form of linear elements 58 and circular elements 60,each may be sized so as to identify a particular physical defect in anarticle 18. In one aspect, linear element 58 may have a size and shapethat corresponds to a first physical defect such as textile snaggingthat may be present in an article 18 formed as a garment, accessory, orother wearable item. Thus, an inspection standard may be indicated bylinear elements 58, as a size of linear element 58 may correspond to anunacceptable size for a textile snag or snag 150 present in article 18(FIG. 5). In a similar manner, a size of circular element 60 maycorrespond to another (e.g., second) physical defect in article 18. Inone aspect, circular element 60 may have a size and shape thatcorresponds to a second inspection criterion such as textile pilling(lint) 152 that may be present in articles 18 (FIG. 5). Thus, linearelements 58 and circular elements 60 may correspond to differentinspection criteria or different physical defects.

As can be seen in FIG. 4, a plurality of linear elements 58 may beprovided. In one aspect, at least two of the linear elements 58 may havedifferent sizes (e.g., lengths). Each differently-sized linear element58 may correspond to a different inspection standard (e.g., anacceptable size of a snag) that is used in the inspection of arespective inspection area. In another aspect, at least three linearelements 58 have different lengths, as shown in the exemplaryconfiguration of FIG. 4. In another aspect, the number of linearelements 58 with different lengths may be four, five, six, or more. Ifdesired, one or more of the linear elements 58 may have a same size.

In the exemplary configuration of FIG. 4, a plurality of circularelements 60 may be provided. Each of the circular elements 60 for aparticular inspection standard may have the same size, but may bearranged in a pattern that facilitates inspection of textile pilling.For example, by providing a grouping of circular elements 60 in whichsome circular elements 60 are located closer together than othercircular elements 60, these elements 60 may facilitate inspection oftextile pilling 152 which may occur in a somewhat random manner withtextile pills 152 having different sizes. If an inspection standard forpilling varies based on an area of inspection, circular elements 60 maybe provided with different sizes for each respective inspectionstandard.

Body 50 may include an area division indicator 62 that provides a visualor other indication of a plurality of inspection areas for an article18. As shown in FIG. 4, area division indicator 62 may include arepresentation of an article divided into a plurality of different zonesor areas. Thus, an inspection of article 18 may include evaluating aseries of areas or zones (e.g., four zones) of the article having one ormore differing inspection standards for a given inspection criteria, theareas being determined by reference to division indicator 62. In oneaspect, division indicator 62 may depict or otherwise present differentareas of an article (e.g., a garment) such as: a first zone thatcorresponds to the front of the garment above the waist, a second zonethat corresponds to the front of the garment below the waist and theback of the garment above the waist, a third zone that includes the armsand a back of the garment below the waist, and a fourth zone thatcorresponds to an interior of the garment.

The zones shown in area division indicator 62 are exemplary, and are notnecessarily present in all articles. These zones may also differ basedon the type of article 18 being inspected. For example, when article 18is a pair of pants, an inspection tool 14 may include a divisionindicator 62 that indicates the first zone may be the front of the pantsfrom the waistline to the knee. For some articles 18, such as shorts,T-shirts, etc., fewer than four zones may be present. For other articles18, such as shoes or suits, five or more zones may be present. When aninspection is performed, as described in detail below, the inspection isperformed based on the areas or zones that are actually present in thearticle.

An inspection standard for determining when an article 18 has failed theinspection may differ based on the zone evaluated and the inspectioncriterion. For example, while an inspection standard may indicate thatany snag 150 may unacceptable in a front of the article 18 (e.g., thefirst zone), an inspection standard for an area corresponding to a backof article (18) (e.g., the second zone) may indicate that minor snaggingis acceptable. Additionally, while no pilling may be acceptable in oneor more zones, minor pilling may be acceptable in one or more zones suchas zones 3 and 4, for example.

In one aspect, an inspection standard indicator 64 may indicate one ormore inspection standards applicable to one or more inspection criteriaof articles 18. As shown in FIG. 4, an inspection standard indicated byindicator 64 may correspond to the size of linear elements 58. Inanother aspect, an inspection standard indicated by indicator 64 maycorrespond to a size of circular elements 60. The inspection standardcorresponding to the size of linear elements 58 and/or the size ofcircular elements 60 may be based on one or more ASTM (American Societyfor Testing and Materials) standards, such as an ASTM standard forsnagging or pilling.

At an upper portion of body 50, area indicator 66 may be provided toindicate one or more inspection areas. As shown in FIG. 4, for eachinspection area indicated by area indicator 66, a respective inspectionstandard for a plurality of inspection criteria (textile snagging andtextile pilling) may be provided. As shown in FIG. 4, some inspectionstandards for a particular inspection criteria (e.g., pilling) may bethe same for multiple areas (e.g., zones 1 and 2, or zones 3 and 4). Asalso shown in FIG. 4, inspection standards (e.g., an amount ofacceptable snagging) may be different for each area (e.g., zones 1, 2,3, and 4).

As shown in FIG. 4, body 50 may extend within a first length 132 in awidth direction and a second length 134 in a length direction. Firstlength 132 of body 50 may be between 7 and 11 inches, for example. Inone embodiment, first length 132 may be between 8 and 10 inches. In oneembodiment, first length 132 may be approximately 9 inches. Secondlength 134 may be between 4 and 8 inches. In one embodiment, secondlength 134 may be between 5 and 7 inches. In one embodiment, secondlength 134 may be approximately 6 inches. A length 130 of area indicator66 may be between 0.25 in. and 0.75 in. In one aspect, length 130 may beapproximately 0.5 in.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating an exemplary use of inspectiontool 14 in an inspection station 112. As shown in FIG. 5, an inspectionperformed by an inspector may include placing inspection tool 14 on anarticle 18 while evaluating article 18 for at least one physical defect.As can be seen in FIG. 5, inspection tool 14 may be placed on article 18such that an inspection surface 52 located on the bottom surface of body50 contacts a surface of article 18. In the example of FIG. 5, theinspection tool 14 is placed such that inspection surface 52 touches aback (e.g., zone 2) of article 18. Inspection tool 14 may then be guidedalong article 18 until one or more of the linear elements 58 or circularelements 60 are approximately aligned with a potential physical defectof article 18. As each of the corners 54 and side edges 56 of inspectiontool 14 may be rounded (e.g., by including a convex surface that facesarticle 18), movement of the inspection tool 14 along article 18 mayavoid the creation of any snags, tears, or rips, even when article 18 isformed of a delicate material such as cashmere.

In the exemplary article 18 shown in FIG. 5, potential physical defectsmay include one or more potential snag defect(s) 150 and potentialpilling defects 152. A potential snag defect 150 may be evaluated byplacing tool 14 directly on top of the potential snag defect 150. One ofthe linear elements 58 may be placed in a position that covers apotential snagging defect 150, allowing direct comparison between thesize of the linear element 58 and the potential snagging defect 150, asclear body 50 allows for direct viewing of the potential defect 150through tool 14. Tool 14 may also be placed adjacent to (includingabove, below, or to the side of) a potential snag defect 150 (as shownin FIG. 5). Any position that allows for a visual comparison ofpotential snag defect 150 and a linear element 58 may constitutealignment.

To evaluate a potential pilling defect 152, inspection tool 14 maysimilarly be placed directly on top of one or more potential textilepilling defects 152. One of the circular elements 60 may be placed in aposition that covers a potential pilling defect 152, allowing directcomparison between the size of the circular element 60 and the potentialpilling defect 152. If desired, tool 14 may also be placed directly onor adjacent to (including above, below, or to the side of) one or morepotential pilling defects 152. Any of these positions may provide analignment between one or more circular element 60 and potential pillingdefect 152, in a similar manner as discussed above.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method 200 for inspecting an article with adefect detection tool 14 according to an embodiment. Method 200 mayinclude computer implementation, e.g., by the operation of inspectionprocessing device 30.

In an initial step 202, articles 18 for inspection may be received atinspection station 112. These articles 18 may be received in a firstlane 92 (FIG. 2) of an inspection station 112. Upon being received ininspection station 112, each article 18 may have a unique identifier 22attached thereto. Step 202 may be performed at any time and/orthroughout method 200.

In step 204, reader 28 may read identifier 22 associated with aparticular article 18. Reader 28 reads information encoded by identifier22, for example an alpha-numeric string of characters, and outputs thisinformation to processing device 30. Based on this information,processing device 30 may identify the article 18. For example, theinformation from reader 28 may uniquely identify article 18. Also, theinformation from reader 28 may allow processing device 30 to determinearticle characteristics that are stored locally within memory 36 such asone or more of a source, category, style, color, size, or serial number.Step 204 may also include, based on the identifier 22 querying articletracking system or article database 40. Article database 40 may respond,for example via network 140, with one or more of: article characteristicinformation, article image information, article inspection historyinformation, or article location information from storage devices 42,44, 46, and 48.

In a step 206, inspection tool 14 may be placed on or applied to article18. This may be performed as shown in FIG. 5 by placing an inspectionsurface 52 on a corresponding surface of article 18, for example. Asinspection tool 14 may include a clear body 50, only a small portion ofarticle 18 is obscured by inspection tool 14.

In a step 208, a surface element 58, 60 of inspection tool 14 may bebrought into alignment with one or more potential defects such aspotential snag defects 150 and/or potential pilling defects 152. Asnoted above, this alignment may include placing a surface element 58, 60directly on (e.g., at least partially covering) or adjacent to apotential physical defect. Aligning may include placing a surfaceelement above, below, or to the side of the potential physical defect.

In step 210, a determination may be performed with a surface element 58,60 of inspection tool 14 aligned with one or more potential physicaldefects 150, 152. During step 210 a size of potential physical defect150, 152 is compared to the size of a linear element 58 or a circularelement 60, respectively. Thus, step 210 may include evaluating an areaof article 18 for the presence of a physical defect. For example, duringstep 210, a size of linear element 58 may be compared to a size of apotential snag defect 150, as shown in FIG. 5. When the potentialphysical defect is smaller than the surface element, the determinationin step 210 is negative and the process may proceed to step 212. In step212, a determination is made whether all areas (e.g., zones) of thearticle 18 have been inspected for all inspection criteria. If thedetermination is negative, the process may return to step 206 or step208, as necessary, to perform an evaluation of any remaining criteria.Thus, different areas of article 18 may be evaluated for differentinspection standards corresponding to the same criterion. A first areaof article 18 (e.g., zone 2) may have a first potential snag defect 150that is compared to a first linear element 58. A second area of article18 (e.g., zone 3) may include a second potential snag defect 150 that iscompared to a second linear element 58 that has a size different fromthe first linear element 58. A physical defect sufficient for article 18to fail inspection may be determined to be present in article 18 wheneither the first potential snag defect 150 is larger than the firstlinear element 58 or the second potential snag defect 150 is larger thanthe second linear element 58. Such a determination is not limited to twoareas of an article 18, or to two inspection standards (e.g., two sizesof linear element 58). In the example of snagging, four areas of article18 may be evaluated for four or more different inspection standards.

In one aspect, if the determination in step 212 is negative and theinspection tool is no longer needed, (for example when the article 18requires inspection for one or more of the presence of a stain, colorbleeding, tearing, broken stitching, odor, dirt, wrinkling, shrinkage,wear, color fading, missing or broken hardware, or missing or brokenembellishments), the evaluation may proceed with be by evaluating eachof the remaining inspection criterion.

When the determination in step 212 is affirmative, each area of article18 has been inspected and all inspection criteria have been evaluated.Thus, the article 18 does not contain a physical defect such as snaggingor pilling.

In step 214, a determination may be made that the article 18 does notcontain a physical defect. This determination may include entering aresult of the inspection (e.g., pass) into inspection processing device30.

Returning to step 210, when the potential physical defect is as large,or larger, than the corresponding surface element 58, 60, the processmay proceed to step 216 in which a physical defect is determined to bepresent. Step 216 may include proceeding with a complete inspection ofall areas and for all inspection criteria. Thus, if the physical defectis reparable, it may be unnecessary to return the article 18 toinspection station 112, and the article 18 may be transferred totransfer station 114 following repair. Step 216 may include entering aresult of the inspection (e.g., fail) into inspection processing device30.

In a step 218, article tracking system or article database 40, includinginspection history storage 46, may be updated with the result of theinspection for article 18 that was determined in step 214 or 216. Thisupdate may be based on the inspection performed with inspection tool 14and the identification of article 18 based on article identifier 22.Thus, when step 218 is reached based on a passed inspection (via step214), inspection history storage 46 may be updated by inspectionprocessing device 30 to reflect the passed inspection. Similarly, whenstep 218 is reached based on a failed inspection (via step 216),inspection history storage 46 may be updated by inspection processingdevice 30 to reflect the failed inspection. This may include updatinginspection history storage 46 with a cause of the failure (e.g.,snagging and/or pilling) determined with the use of tool 14.

In step 220, it may be determined if more articles 18 are present ininspection area 112 and are awaiting inspection. If the determination instep 220 is affirmative, the process may proceed to step 204 and thesearticles 18 may be inspected. When the determination in step 220 isnegative, step 202 may be again performed to continue the inspectionprocess with additional articles 18.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a method 300 for detecting a defect in anarticle 18. In one aspect, method 300 may be a method that is at leastpartially computer-implemented, for example with the use of inspectionprocessing device 30.

In an initial step 302 of method 300, one or more articles 18 may bereceived at an inspection station 112. This may be performed in the samemanner as step 202 described above. Similarly, in a step 304 may beperformed in the same manner as step 304 for reading an articleidentifier 22 and identifying the article 18 based on the articleidentifier 22.

In a step 306, an inspection standard for an inspection criterion (e.g.,snagging and/or pilling) in an inspection area (e.g., zone) may bedetermined. For example, with reference to FIG. 4, area divisionindicator 62 that may be used to determine the location and/orboundaries of one or more areas of an article 18. An inspection standardindicator 64 provided in body 50 with area division indicator 62 may beused to determine an inspection standard for each area (e.g., nosnagging, snag less than 0.25 in. may be acceptable, snag less than 0.5in. may be acceptable, snag less than 1.0 in. may be acceptable, etc.).

Step 306 may include determining an inspection standard based on areaindicator 66 and one or more of linear elements 58 or circular elements60. When an inspection standard in an area (e.g., zone 1) does notpermit a defect of any size, this may be indicated in an area of body 50adjacent to area indicator 66 to allow a determination of the inspectionstandard in the corresponding area. The inspection standard for eacharea may also be determined visually based on the size of one or morelinear elements 58 and/or one or more circular elements 60.

In a step 308 that may follow completion of step 306, an inspection maybe performed by evaluating an article 18 based on the criteriondetermined in step 306. This may be performed, for example, by applyingan inspection tool 14 to an article 18 (see step 206 as describedabove), aligning a surface element of inspection 14 with one or morepotential defects (see step 208 as described above), and determiningwhether a physical defect is as large or larger than the surface element(see step 210 as described above).

The surface element (e.g., one of the linear elements 58) compared tothe potential physical defect may have a size that reflects theinspection standard determined in step 306. For example, when an area(e.g., zone 2) of an article 18 is evaluated, as shown in FIG. 5, asurface element corresponding to this area (zone 2) may be aligned witha potential physical defect. In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, thearea under inspection may be considered zone 2, and a linear element 58corresponding to zone 2 (as may be indicated by area indicator 66) maybe aligned with a potential snag defect 150. In such an example, thephysical defect may be determined to exist when the size of thepotential snag defect 150 is larger than the linear element 58 thatreflects the appropriate inspection standard (e.g., the linear element58 for zone 2).

In a step 310 that may follow step 308, a determination may be madewhether all areas (e.g., zones) of the article 18 being inspected havebeen inspected for all inspection criteria. Step 310 may be performed inthe same manner as step 212.

In a step 312, a result of the inspection may be determined once allareas of an article 18 have been inspected for all inspection criteria.Step 312 may include determining that article 18 passed inspection whenno physical defects were present. Step 312 may involve inspecting forquality criteria including, but not limited to: staining, colorbleeding, tearing, broken stitching, odor, dirt, wrinkling, shrinkage,wear, color fading, missing or broken hardware, or missing or brokenembellishments.

In a step 314, article inspection tracking system or database 40 may beupdated with the inspection result. In one aspect, this update may beperformed in the same manner described above with respect to step 218,by providing an update to inspection history storage 46 with inspectionprocessing device 30.

Step 316 may include determining if more articles are awaitinginspection in inspection area 112, as described above with respect tostep 220. If this determination is affirmative, the process may returnto step 304. When the determination in step 316 is negative, the processmay return to step 302. Thus, a plurality of articles 18 may beinspected using tool 14.

By performing an inspection with the systems and methods describedherein, inspections may be performed based on objective criteria.Additionally, inspections may be consistently performed, even wheninspection criteria are different for different areas of an articlebeing evaluated in the inspection. In one aspect, the use of aninspection tool 14 may allow for the determination of a standard forinspecting one or more areas of the article. Additionally, one or moresurface features may provide a physical representation of one or moreinspection criteria. Thus, the exemplary systems and methods may improvethe speed, quality, and accuracy of article inspections.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method of inspecting and detecting whether a defect exists in a wearable article distributed through a system for providing wearable articles as a service, the method comprising: maintaining one or more databases of the system for providing wearable articles as a service for distributing one or more wearable articles to one or more users of the one or more wearable articles on a temporary basis, the one or more databases comprising one or more characteristics of the one or more wearable articles and an inspection history of each of the one or more wearable articles; receiving a wearable article being returned from a user of the wearable article following the user's temporary use or possession of the wearable article; inspecting a surface of the received wearable article using a visual inspection process and/or a defect inspection tool that indicates whether a physical defect exists in the surface of the received wearable article; accessing an electronic record associated with the received wearable article in the one or more databases by reading a label or identifier affixed to the received wearable article; updating the electronic record in the one or more databases of the system for providing wearable articles as a service with a result of the visual inspection process and/or information regarding whether a physical defect exists in the wearable article; and routing the received wearable article for a secondary inspection, additional processing, or putaway staging or transfer to inventory based on the result of the visual inspection process and/or information regarding whether a physical defect exists in the wearable article.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more wearable articles are garments.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical defect comprises a snag, pilling, a hole, a tear, a broken stitching, missing or broken hardware, or missing or broken embellishments.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the visual inspection process includes a technician visually inspecting the wearable article and/or taking a photograph of the wearable article.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the defect inspection tool comprises indicia indicating a plurality of inspection standards for inspecting a plurality areas of the wearable article.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the plurality of inspection standards differ in accordance with different areas of the wearable article, the different areas of the wearable article including at least a front of the wearable article and a rear of the wearable article.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the defect inspection tool indicates a plurality of standards for a plurality of physical defects.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein each of the plurality of physical defects includes a respective plurality of standards that vary in accordance with respective areas of the wearable article.
 9. The method of claim 1, further including placing an inspection surface of the defect inspection tool on the wearable article and comparing a size of a potential snag defect or a potential pilling defect to a size of a surface element.
 10. The method of claim 9, further including determining that the wearable article fails the inspection based on the comparison, and the updating the one or more databases by updating an inspection history to indicate an inspection fail for at least one of a presence of a textile snag defect or a textile pilling defect.
 11. A computer-implemented method of inspecting and detecting whether a defect exists in a wearable article distributed through a system for providing wearable articles as a service, the method comprising: maintaining one or more databases of the system for providing wearable articles as a service for distributing one or more wearable articles to one or more users of the one or more wearable articles on a temporary basis, the one or more databases comprising one or more characteristics of the one or more wearable articles and an inspection history of the one or more wearable articles; receiving a wearable article being returned from a user of the wearable article following the user's temporary use or possession of the wearable article; inspecting a surface of the received wearable article using a visual inspection process and a defect inspection tool that indicates whether a physical defect exists in the surface of the received wearable article; and updating the one or more databases of the system for providing wearable articles as a service with a result of the visual inspection process and information regarding whether a physical defect exists in the wearable article.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the wearable article is a garment.
 13. The method of claim 11, further comprising routing the received wearable article for a secondary inspection, additional processing, or putaway staging or transfer to inventory based on the result of the visual inspection process and/or information regarding whether a physical defect exists in the wearable article.
 14. The method of claim 11, wherein the defect inspection tool indicates a plurality of inspection standards for inspecting a plurality of areas of the wearable article.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the plurality of inspection standards differ in accordance with different areas of the wearable article, the different areas of the wearable article including at least a front of the wearable article and a rear of the wearable article.
 16. The method of claim 11, wherein the defect inspection tool indicates a plurality of standards for a plurality of physical defects.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein each of the plurality of physical defects includes a respective plurality of standards that vary in accordance with respective areas of the wearable article.
 18. The method of claim 11, further including placing an inspection surface of the defect detection tool on the wearable article and comparing a size of a potential snag defect or a potential pilling defect to a size of a surface element.
 19. The method of claim 11, wherein the wearable article is identified via an identifier that is formed as a tag physically attached to an interior of the wearable article.
 20. A computer system for inspecting and detecting whether a defect exists in a wearable article distributed through a system for providing wearable articles as a service, comprising: a memory storing instructions; and one or more processors configured to execute the instructions to perform operations including: maintaining one or more databases of the system for providing wearable articles as a service for distributing one or more wearable articles to one or more users of the one or more wearable articles on a temporary basis, the one or more databases comprising one or more characteristics of the one or more wearable articles and an inspection history of the one or more wearable articles; receiving a wearable article being returned from a user of the wearable article following the user's temporary use or possession of the wearable article; inspecting a surface of the received wearable article using a visual inspection process and a defect inspection tool that indicates whether a physical defect exists in the surface of the received wearable article; and updating the one or more databases of the the system for providing wearable articles as a service with a result of the visual inspection process and information regarding whether a physical defect exists in the wearable article. 